nodiexam

IBEW apprenticeship

The IBEW apprenticeship program, step by step

By the nodiexam team Updated

To get into the IBEW apprenticeship program, you apply to the JATC for your area, pass its aptitude test, interview with a committee of IBEW and NECA members, wait on a ranked list, and start work with a union contractor when your number is called. Each JATC sets its own dates and rules, and the apprenticeship itself lasts four or five years.

IBEW apprenticeships are run locally. In short, a JATC is a joint apprenticeship and training committee run together by an IBEW local and a NECA chapter. Every step below happens with that local program, and each one has its own page here with what named programs publish, each source linked and dated.

The steps at a glance

  1. Apply to your JATC. Find the program for the area where you want to work and apply in its window. How to join an IBEW apprenticeship
  2. Take the aptitude test. Algebra and reading, timed, with no calculator, at many programs. IBEW aptitude test
  3. Interview. A short panel interview, or at some programs a written form instead. The IBEW interview
  4. Wait on the ranking list. Your score puts you in line, and places are offered from the top. The IBEW ranking list
  5. Accept the offer and clear its conditions. Usually a drug test, sometimes a physical and other checks.
  6. Start work. An orientation or basic class, then a union contractor and your first pay step. IBEW apprentice pay

1. Apply to your JATC

Start with the official list: the electrical training ALLIANCE's training center locator lists the local JATC training centers for inside wireman and outside lineman apprenticeships. Pick the program, read its dates and pay the fee. As a baseline, the etA lists typical requirements as age 18, a high school education, one year of high school algebra, a qualifying aptitude test score and being drug free. Programs add their own rules, so read your JATC's page in full. How to join an IBEW apprenticeship walks through the application.

Decide which apprenticeship you want before you apply. Inside wireman covers commercial and industrial work, and inside wireman vs lineman compares it with outside line work.

2. Take the aptitude test

Many programs give the electrical training ALLIANCE (etA) test: Algebra and Functions, 33 questions in 46 minutes, and Reading Comprehension, 36 questions in 51 minutes. On the day, calculators are not allowed. Afterwards, you learn whether your score qualifies, not your exact score.

Some programs, such as Boston, Phoenix and Minneapolis, give the GAN aptitude test instead, so check the name of the test in your letter. Which test does your local use? lists named programs for each. To prepare for the etA test:

3. Interview

The electrical training ALLIANCE says a qualifying score leads to an oral interview with a committee of people from both NECA and the IBEW. Panels ask about your work, your reasons and how you handle problems, and score you on set areas. Not every program interviews, though. Phoenix, Boston and Local 26 have applicants fill in a Personal Experience Form, scored by GAN Human Resources, in place of an interview. The IBEW interview has what named panels publish and how to prepare.

4. Wait on the ranking list

The etA's general description is that your overall ranking comes from the interview and a review of your qualifications, and names leave the list in rank order. Under the national standards, selection starts with the top score and goes down the list, and the JATC cannot skip over anyone. How long you stay listed, and whether you can re-interview, differs by program. The IBEW ranking list sets out eleven programs' rules, plus the etA's general one,.

For timing, see how long the whole process takes.

5. Accept the offer

Under the national standards, an offer of apprenticeship comes in writing and depends on finishing the post-selection steps in the program's standards. The conditions vary by program, and the etA says some programs add drug testing, a physical exam, a background check or a valid driver's license. Answer quickly, because under the same standards you count as having asked to leave the list if your contact details go out of date or you don't answer the JATC promptly, offers included.

6. Your first day and the years after

Programs start new apprentices in different ways. For example, at NIETC a selected applicant takes a Basic Skills class, is assigned to a NECA contractor and reports to work the following week. On the line side, Missouri Valley JATC starts new lineman apprentices with an orientation week of drug testing, first aid, CPR, OSHA 10 and pole climbing.

From then on you work full time and go to class. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says most electricians learn the trade in a 4- or 5-year apprenticeship, with about 2,000 hours of paid on-the-job training each year. Your pay rises in steps along the way, because federal rules require every registered apprenticeship to pay a progressively increasing schedule of wages as the apprentice gains skill. IBEW apprentice pay shows how the steps work, with dated sheets from named programs.

How long does the whole process take?

Plan on a few months to reach the ranking list, an unknown wait on it, and four or five years in the program. Up to the list, NIETC says the application, aptitude test and interview take 2 to 3 months, after which you are placed on the ranked list. Your name then stays listed for a set time: the etA says your name stays on the eligibility list for two years, and after that you reapply, while the NECA and IBEW national standards adopted by North Texas Electrical JATC keep you on the ranked list for one year from your interview. No program we checked publishes how long the wait for a call takes, because classes start when contractors need apprentices. Once you start, the term is set by the program. At NIETC the inside apprenticeship is 8,000 hours on the job, plus 10 terms of school, one day a week. At Boston it is five years, with 10,000 hours on the job and 1,000 hours of classroom instruction, in class one day a week. On the line side, Missouri Valley's takes nearly four years and at least 7,000 hours, in seven steps with a raise at each. The IBEW ranking list has each program's list rules.

Questions people ask

How long does it take to get into the IBEW?

A few months to reach the ranked list, then a wait on the list that no program we checked publishes, because classes start when contractors need apprentices. How long the whole process takes gives the published times by program.

How long is an IBEW apprenticeship?

Four or five years for inside wireman at the programs we checked, with classes alongside, and a little less at the two outside line programs. How long the whole process takes has the hours by program.

Do I apply to the IBEW or to my local?

To the local program, called a JATC, that covers the area where you want to work. There is no national application. The electrical training ALLIANCE's locator lists the training centers.

Sources

Facts on this page come from these pages. We checked each one on the date shown.